Nongshim RedForce has become the second Ascension team to win a VCT Kickoff event after defeating RRQ in the 2026 Pacific Upper Finals.
RRQ, on the other hand, still has two chances left to qualify for Masters Santiago before facing elimination from the event.
Nongshim RedForce Almost Blunder the Series
Ever since Nongshim RedForce requalified to the Tier 1 ecosystem after finishing second at Ascension Pacific 2025, it hasn’t lost a single series. This includes a victory over Masters Bangkok champion T1.
That trend continued against RRQ as well, though the win didn’t come easily. The first half on Corrode ended with a 6-6 scoreline already hinting at a nail-biting best-of-five series.
While RRQ kicked off the second half with three back-to-back round wins, Nongshim RedForce snatched away six of the next seven rounds to reach map point. RRQ pushed back to force overtime and eventually took the early series lead 14-12.
On map two, Nongshim RedForce recorded a dominating start on Bind, rarely giving the Indonesian side many chances in the first half as the scoreline reached 9-3. What seemed like a one-sided affair turned into a close battle as RRQ won five of the first six rounds in the second half to put the team only two points behind.
That said, RRQ failed to finish the job this time as Nongshim RedForce gained momentum back to close out the map 13-8 to level the series.
The South Korean side once again had a strong showing on Haven to put 9-3 on the board. Moreover, unlike Bind, RRQ could only manage to claim five rounds in total as Nongshim RedForce moved one step closer to winning the series, achieving a 13-5 victory.
RRQ found itself on the back foot once again on Abyss, with its VCT Ascension opposition gaining an early 6-1 lead. However, the experienced roster wasn’t ready to give up just yet, as it won the rest of the rounds in the first half to level the score. While Nongshim RedForce stole a few rounds in the second half, RRQ dominated the latter half to secure a close 13-11 win and take the series to the decider.
The fifth map, Breeze, nearly saw Nongshim RedForce’s biggest blunder of its entire VCT Pacific tenure. The team destroyed RRQ to reach a 12-1 lead and was just one round away from punching its ticket to Masters Santiago.
However, Pujan ‘FNS‘ Mehta’s worst fear was close to becoming a reality as RRQ took the game to 12-5. In the end, though, the South Korean organisation avoided a brutal collapse. Nongshim RedForce claimed the one round it needed to lock in a Masters Santiago appearance, taking the map 13-7 and series 3-2.
Nongshim RedForce’s initiator Jung ‘Xross’ Hwan was named MVP of the series with a 1.19 rating and a 79/62/20 KDA. However, the team’s duelist Lee ‘Dambi’ Hyuk-kyu scored the highest ACS of 224.
While Nongshim RedForce will now start preparing for its first international VCT event, RRQ will face T1 in the Middle Final on February 14th for another shot at Masters Santiago qualification. The match, just like the rest of the tournament, will be streamed live on VCT Pacific Twitch and YouTube channels.
